MANILA, Philippines – At least P100 million is being lost to bribery in the Philippines yearly, reinforcing the country’s reputation as one of the world’s most corruption-laden economies, the global corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) will not waver on its support for the government’s alternative fuels development program despite initial setbacks, particularly on the compatibility of ethanol-blended fuels on vehicles.

MANILA, Philippines – The Quezon City government has declared several parcels of land occupied by informal settlers as socialized housing areas.

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga, Philippines – At least seven people were hurt after a refilling station of liquefied petroleum gas in Abucay, Bataan caught fire after an explosion last Friday night.

MANILA, Philippines – In a landmark case, the Supreme Court has been asked to compel the government to improve living conditions in jails in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) assured international and local labor leaders that the Philippines is an ideal place for industrial peace and security.

MANILA, Philippines – Infant mortality in the Philippines continues to decline due to improved immunization and oral rehydration campaigns, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said yesterday.

‘We project to people our own view of ourselves’ HERE ARE the views of prominent women about a man who beats up his wife, girlfriend or partner and how a battered woman can regain her self-esteem.

WHEN PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave the country a day off to pay homage to the passing of the executive minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo, one sector was specifically excluded: the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector. This was, according to the President, in recognition of the BPO industry’s importance to “national economic interest.”

MANILA, Philippines—A total of P1.8 billion has been earmarked to reinforce the government’s Pre-School Education Program, Cotabato Representative Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza said Sunday.

With its commitment to help uplift the overall health condition of Filipinos, GlaxoSmithKline Philippines (GSK) is sponsoring the deployment of 100 nurses in underserved municipalities under the government’s NARS (Nurses Assigned to Rural Service) Program. In the presence of President Arroyo, GSK president and managing director Roberto Taboada (left) signed the memorandum of agreement with…

TOURIST arrivals to the Philippines increased by 4 percent in August compared to the same month last year, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said.

The Philippine Commission on Women (this is the new name of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, or NCRFW, as mandated by the MCW) gives this answer:

Victims of domestic violence, exploitation and abuse must not hesitate to run to the Women and Children Protection Desks (WCPD) that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has put up in all municipal police stations throughout the country, Interior Secretary Ronnie Puno told The Manila Times.

THE Magna Carta of Women (MCW) seeks to give protection to women from all forms of violence, including those committed by the State. The MCW commands local government units to establish a Violence Against Women Desk in every barangay to address cases of violence against women.

The Magna Carta of Women, which President Gloria Arroyo signed into law on August 14, will promote the economic rights, opportunities and well-being of women, especially those in the marginalized sectors.

CEBU, Philippines – The number of notices of strike filed before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board from January to August this year is lesser compared to the same period last year, data from the NCMB show.

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines – President Arroyo will condone some P5 billion worth of unpaid irrigation service fees (ISFs) and irrigation loan amortizations of farmers as a legacy to the farming sector, it was learned here yesterday.

SPECIAL REPORT: WILL MCW BE ENFORCED? The recent alleged beating of Rachel Tiongson, former live-in partner of Deputy National Security Adviser Luis Chavit Singson, hammers home the gains and gaps in the newly enacted Magna Carta of Women (MCW). Feminists now ask: Will the state really use its legal powers and force to punish the…

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines wants the tariff rate of 35 percent on rice maintained until 2015 under the  ASEAN Free Trade Arrangement (AFTA) which would likely go into full implementation next year.

MANILA, Philippines – The private sector has intensified its campaign against smuggling as onion farmers and labor unions have joined forces with the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) and the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG).

MANILA, Philippines – Senior officials from 22 Asian countries have unanimously adopted the Manila Declaration on Green Industry in Asia and Framework of Action, which is the outcome document of the International Conference on Green Industry in Asia.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday protested the inclusion of the Philippines in the United States’ list of countries with goods produced with child labor.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has rated strongly in a survey of presidential contenders conducted shortly before the announcement of his intention to run in the 2010 elections under the Liberal Party.

MUCH HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT how little GNP (gross national product) or GDP (gross domestic product) really tells us—and yet GNP/GDP remains the most widely used measure for assessing the performance of economies around the world. GNP measures production by a country’s nationals wherever they are (whether within or outside the country), while GDP measures…

HONG KONG—Financial institutions are leading a recovery in the Asian jobs market as the region emerges from recession more forcefully than expected, analysts say.

A BILL converting the Bataan Economic Zone into the Bataan Special Economic Zone and Freeport has been passed by the House of Representatives and is now being deliberated in the Senate.

THE NUMBER OF FILIPINOS optimistic about the country’s employment situation increased in the third quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in its latest survey.

A man who formerly worked as a pipefitter, welder and pipeliner and his wife have filed a lawsuit against 36 companies, alleging that his mesothelioma cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos that occurred in the workplace.

STRONG sales in the Visayas and Mindanao brought developer Landco Pacific Corp.’s profit to P1.94 billion in the first half, 11 percent higher than its P1.7-billion target for the period, the company said yesterday.